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BBC reporter forced to abandon broadcast ‘after suffering racist abuse’

‘Sad obstruction of reporting of a national crisis. I’m furious,’ says Sima Kotecha after incident

Kate Ng
Monday 11 May 2020 14:36 BST
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A BBC reporter was forced to cancel a live broadcast after she and her team were “subjected to racist and abusive behaviour” while preparing.

Sima Kotecha was preparing to report live from Leicester after prime minister Boris Johnson’s speech on BBC One.

But she tweeted before her broadcast was due to air: “Apologies - but man shouting terrible things at me has ruined it for everyone. I’m afraid not going to make it on the special programme.”

Ms Kotecha explained in a separate tweet: “Apologies to our guests who we had to send home without putting on air after myself and team were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour - sad obstruction of reporting of a national crisis. Yes I’m furious.”

The BBC News press office later said on its official Twitter account: “While preparing to broadcast, our reporter, her production team and guests were subjected to racist and abusive behaviour.

“We are appalled by what happened and will be reporting the incident to the police. We will not tolerate racism or abuse of our staff.”

This is not the first time Ms Kotecha has spoken out about being subjected to racist behaviour while working.

In 2016, she described being racially abused in her home town of Basingstoke just days after the EU referendum, when the UK voted for Brexit.

She had been visiting the Hampshire town centre to ask voters there why they backed Brexit when an unnamed man she was speaking to used the racially offensive term “p***s”.

He told Ms Kotecha: “I think all the immigrants, they should leave the country, you know what I mean?” When asked if he was referring to Eastern Europeans living in Britain, he replied: “Yeah, like I’m not saying p***s as, like, I’m saying like all of them.”

Ms Kotecha’s tweets on Sunday evening were met with an outpouring of sympathy and disgust at the perpetrators. Simon Cole, chief constable of Leicester Police, replied and said: “Sorry to hear about this. I’ve spoken to our control room.”

He then advised Ms Kotecha to report the incident by phone or online.

A spokesperson for Leicester Police said: "We are aware of a post on social media relating to a woman being racially abused in Leicester city centre yesterday evening. Racist abuse will not be tolerated under any circumstances and officers have made contact with the woman to offer support.

"An investigation into the incident is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time."

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